100G QSFP28 Optical Transceivers: A Cost-effective Solution

The continuous and rapid development of the Internet as well as the desire of people for higher speed optical networks facilitated the vigorous development of the entire optical communications industry and strongly promoted the independent R & D and innovation in many core technologies including optoelectronic devices technologies. 100g optical transceiver is regarded as the product of this big data era.

The first generation of 100G optical modules is CFP optical module with very large volume, then CFP2 and CFP4 optical modules appears. CFP4 optical module is the latest generation of 100G optical module, the width is only 1/4 of CFP optical module. Its package size is not same as the QSFP + optical module. The QSFP28 optical module has a smaller package size than the CFP4 optical module, which means the QSFP28 optical module has a higher port density on the switch. The following are several 100G QSFP28 series optical modules:

Main Types of QSFP28 Optical Transceivers

100G QSFP28 LR4 is a 100Gb/s transceiver module designed for optical communication applications compliant to 100GBASE-LR4 of the IEEE P802.3ba standard.

100G QSFP28 SR4 is a four-channel, pluggable, parallel, fiber-optic QSFP+ SR4 optical transceiver module for 100/40 Gigabit Ethernet, Infiniband DDR/EDR and 32GFC applications.

100G QSFP28 PSM4 is a four-channel, pluggable, parallel, fiber-optic QSFP28 PSM4 optical transceiver module for 100/40 Gigabit Ethernet and Infiniband DDR/EDR Applications.

100G QSFP28 CWDM4 is a 100Gb/s transceiver module which is designed for optical communication applications compliant with the QSFP MSA, CWDM4 MSA and portions of IEEE P802.3bm standard.

Of course, QSFP28 series also includes 100G QSFP28 active optical cables; these products have played an important role in the development of 100G.

Advantages of 100G QSFP28 Optical Transceivers

1. Power Consumption

The power consumption of QSFP28 typically is no more than 3.5W, while the power consumption of other 100G optical modules typically is between 6W and 24W. From this, the power consumption of QSFP28 optical modules is much lower power than other 100G optical modules.

2. Cost

Now the data center is mainly 10G network architecture, in which the interconnection solutions are mainly 10GBASE-SR optical module and duplex LC multimode fiber jumper. If the existing 10G network architecture based on the direct is upgraded to 40 / 100G network, it will save a lot of time and cost. Therefore, one of the major interconnection trends in data centers is to upgrade from 10G networks to 40 / 100G networks without changing existing duplex multimode infrastructure. In this case, the MPO / MTP branchable cable is undoubtedly the ideal solution for a 10G upgrade to 40 / 100G.

3. Bandwidth

The QSFP28 uses the advanced 100G transport technology to provide the data center with a connection between the chassis switch and the core network, providing up to 150% greater panel bandwidth density than the 40G QSFP solution

Optical Module Test

When using optical modules, test performance is an essential step. Optical module is composed of transmitter and receiver, so when we test, it is generally divided into four steps, which mainly includes the transmitter and receiver test.

First, the transmitter part:

When testing, pay attention to the wavelength and shape of the transmitter output waveform, as well as the receiver’s jitter tolerance and bandwidth. When testing the transmitter, note the following:

1. The quality of the input signal used to test the transmitter must be good enough. In addition, the quality of the electrical measurements must also be confirmed by jitter and eye measurements. Eye diagram measurements are a common way to check the transmitter’s output waveform because the eye diagram contains a wealth of information that reflects the overall performance of the transmitter.

2.The output optical signal of the transmitter must be measured by the optical quality index such as eye pattern test, optical modulation amplitude and extinction ratio.

Second, the receiver part:

Unlike test transmitters, the quality of the optical signal must be sufficiently poor when testing the receiver that a light pressure eye pattern representing the worst signal must be created. This worst case optical signal must pass through jitter measurements and light Power test to calibrate.

1. Eye pattern test, this will ensure that the eye “eye” is open. Eye diagram testing is usually done at the depth of the bit error rate;

2. Jitter test to test different types of jitter;

3. Jitter Tracking and Tolerance, testing the internal clock recovery circuit to track the jitter.

All in all, testing light modules is a complex undertaking, but it is also an indispensable step in ensuring good performance. Eye diagram measurement is a widely used measurement method that can effectively test the transmitter of an optical module. The optical module receiver test is more complex, but also requires more testing methods.